Lakeview transfer station proposal scaled back by RTA

Plans for a transfer station to accommodate streetcars and buses near the intersection of Canal Boulevard and City Park Avenue in Lakeview have run into a brick wall of neighborhood opposition twice before. Hoping the third time will be the charm, Regional Transit Authority officials are ready to float the idea once again.

"When the community says they don't want something, I want to hear them out," said Barbara Major, chairwoman of the RTA board. "But I also have a responsibility to protect riders.

"I want to know what the objections are. And I want to see if there is a reasonable way to resolve them."

In the past, residents have complained that the project would be out of scale for the area.

Major said she expects to hear similar concerns when the RTA stages a public hearing Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Bayou Lafourche Room at the Student Life Center on the Delgado Community College campus.

The transfer station -- which would extend along the Canal Boulevard neutral ground from City Park Avenue to Rosedale Drive -- was part of the original blueprint for the Canal Street streetcar line that resumed service in 2004 after a 40-year absence.

The $9.8 million, federally funded proposal calls for extending the tracks that now terminate on Canal Street across City Park Avenue. It would also add traffic signals at the inbound and outbound intersections of Canal Boulevard and City Park Avenue, where stop signs now regulate traffic flow.

Planners have argued that a terminal is a much-needed safety feature that would allow streetcar and bus riders to change lines without having to cross busy streets. Some residents have countered that having streetcars cross City Park Avenue would make the already-dangerous intersection worse.

The RTA shelved the idea in 2005 and again in 2009 after neighborhood leaders and City Hall refused to support it.

To address objections, the agency scaled back its proposal, which once called for a large building to house retail space and public restrooms.

The latest design, which includes no major construction, proposes new lighting and small transit shelters positioned at each of seven parking bays for buses and the streetcar stop. Restrooms will be available but only for transit personnel.

While the RTA already has collected ample public comment on the proposal, the repeated delays have triggered federal regulations that require another hearing to assess the potential environmental impact of construction, particularly on a nearby cemetery.

If the project gets the green light, transit officials say it will take until year's end to complete the design and work likely wouldn't begin until mid-2013.

While the RTA's preference is to build the transfer facility, the agency could opt to shelve the project if there is no support for it, said Justin Augustine, the top local executive with Veolia Transportation, the France-based conglomerate that has managed the bus and streetcar system since 2008.

"Ideally, we want to do this," Augustine said. "We think it would be the best use of the money. But certain people in the community are concerned and they would prefer to keep it a green space."

If the project is scuttled, Augustine said the federal government could take back the grant dollars and reallocate them.

But Augustine said he would hope that the RTA and city leaders could persuade the Federal Transit Administration to keep the money in New Orleans.

Augustine said the most logical place to redirect the cash would be for an extension to the Loyola Avenue streetcar line.

Under the current design for the new line, which is scheduled to be up and running by summer, streetcar service will end at the Union Passenger Terminal. The RTA would like to extend the tracks along Howard Avenue, where the line could tie in with the St. Charles Avenue line at Carondelet Street.